Classified Catalogue Of Tamil Printed Books

This volume examines the relationship between language and power across cultural boundaries. It evaluates the vital role of translation in redefining culture and ethnic identity. During the first phase of colonialism, mid-18th to late-19th century, the English-speaking missionaries and East India Company functionaries in South India were impelled to master Tamil, the local language, in order to transact their business. Tamil also comprised ancient classical literary works, especially ethical and moral literature, which were found especially suited to the preferences of Christian missionaries. This interface between English and Tamil acted as a conduit for cultural transmission among different groups. The essays in this volume are on chosen areas of translation activities and explore cultural, religious, linguistic and literary transactions. This volume and its companion (which looks at the period between 1900 CE to the present) cover the late colonial and postcolonial era and will be of interest to students, scholars and researchers of translation studies, literature, linguistics, sociology and social anthropology, South Asian studies, colonial and postcolonial studies, literary and critical theory as well as culture studies.

This work is an original attempt to study the influence of print technology on the Muslims of Tamil Nadu and their literature. It is based on the literary works published by the Tamil Muslims from 1835, when restrictions on printing were removed, to 1920 when they participated in the Khilafat movement. By extension, the study of this literature becomes a study of the origin, society, and identity of the Tamil Muslims.

The book addresses problems and topics which have so far been largely ignored, in spite of being of fundamental importance for successful teaching and correct understanding of Tamil literary heritage which spans some 2000 years of development.

The ancient Tamil poetic corpus of the Caṅam ("The Academy") is a national treasure for Tamilians and a battle-ground for linguists and historians of politics, culture and literature. Going back to oral predecessors probably dating back to the beginning of the first millennium, it has had an extremely rich and variegated history. Collected into anthologies and endowed with literary theories and voluminous commentaries, it became the centre-piece of the Tamil literary canon, associated with the royal court of the Pandya dynasty in Madurai. Its decline began in the late middle ages, and by the late 17th century it had fallen into near oblivion, before being rediscovered at the beginning of the print era. The present study traces the complex historical process of its transmission over some 2000 years, using and documenting a wide range of sources, in particular surviving manuscripts, the early prints, the commentaries of the literary and grammatical traditions and a vast range of later literature that creates a web of inter-textual references and quotations.

The Emergence of Modern Hinduism argues for the importance of regional, vernacular innovation in processes of Hindu modernization. Scholars usually trace the emergence of modern Hinduism to cosmopolitan reform movements, producing accounts that overemphasize the centrality of elite religion and the influence of Western ideas and models. In this study, the author considers religious change on the margins of colonialism by looking at an important local figure, the Tamil Shaiva poet and mystic Ramalinga Swami (1823–1874). Weiss narrates a history of Hindu modernization that demonstrates the transformative role of Hindu ideas, models, and institutions, making this text essential for scholarly audiences of South Asian history, religious studies, Hindu studies, and South Asian studies. Learn more at www.luminosoa.org.

The History of the Book in South Asia covers not only the various modern states that make up South Asia today but also a multitude of languages and scripts. For centuries it was manuscripts that dominated book production and circulation, and printing technology only began to make an impact in the late eighteenth century. Print flourished in the colonial period and in particular lithographic printing proved particularly popular in South Asia both because it was economical and because it enabled multi-script printing. There are now vibrant publishing cultures in the nation states of South Asia, and the essays in this volume cover the whole range from palm-leaf manuscripts to contemporary print culture.

The study by Daniel Jeyarai recovers a forgotten aspect of the Tamil cultural heritage within the ongoing Indo-European intellectual discourse from early eighteenth century. It provides an English version of the Latin-Tamil Grammar that was printed in Germany in 1716. Bartholomaus Ziegenbalg (1682-1719), a pioneer in many fields of intercultural study, compiled it with the help of other Tamil grammars written by European and Tamil scholars. It illuminates his Lutheran piety, his acquaintance with the Tamil people in Tranquebar on the Coromandel Coast in south eastern India, and his deep understanding of the colloquial form of Tamil as spoken by ordinary people. It elevates his pioneer work as a decisive translator and printer of the New Testament, Systematic Theology and Lutheran Catechism in Tamil. Additionally, this grammar helps us to gain penetrating insights into the socio-cultural, religious, and linguistic fabric of the Tamil people and the newly emerging Tamil Protestant congregation in Tranquebar. Thus, Jeyarai's survey Tamil Language for Europeans provides an excellent case study for historians, students, and practitioners of mission and ecumenism, Indologists and scholars of related Indo-European studies, and translators of intercultural texts to explore the transcontinental role of a grammar in communicating, and simultaneously preserving Tamil language, culture and memories beyond its borders.

Adopting The Voice Of A Mother, Poets Lovingly Praise Gods And Men. For Hundreds Of Years Tamil Poets Have Been Composing Devotional Texts In Which They Adopt The Voice Of A Mother And Address Praises To An Extraordinary Child. The Poems, Called Pillaitamil (Literally Tamil For A Child ), Form A Major Genre Of Tamil Literature. Since The Twelfth Century, When The First Known Pillaitamil Was Written In Honour Of A Chola King, Many Of These Poems Have Been Composed In Praise Of The Quintessentially Tamil God Murugan And South Indian Goddesses, As Well As Saints And Venerated Monastic Abbots. In Recent Times Pillaitamils Have Been Dedicated To Prophet Muhammad, Virgin Mary And Baby Jesus, As Well As Notable Political Figures And Movie Stars. Extraordinary Child Provides A Sampler Of Translations From, And Analyses Of, Seven Pillaitamils Of Particular Religious, Aesthetic Or Political Significance. Paula Richman S Insightful And Comprehensive Introduction Initiates The Reader Into The Pillaitamil Tradition By Explaining What A Pillaitamil Does And How Contemporary Audiences Can Learn To Savour The Subtleties Of The Verses.